West Fargo Woman Celebrating More than a Century of Loving Baseball and the Minnesota Twins

Viola Toppin has been following the Twins for as long as she can remember and that means being a baseball fan for more than a century.

WEST FARGO, ND —  As the Minnesota Twins get ready to take on the Chicago White Sox Thursday, West Fargo’s Viola Toppin will be in the crowd.

Toppin has been following the Twins for as long as she can remember and that means being a baseball fan for more than a century.

“I kind of grew up listening to baseball,” she said.

The decade long resident of Sheyenne Crossings is decked out in her Twins gear, ready to celebrate her birthday.

“Today, I am 103,” she said.

But Toppin is no ordinary fan.

“I kind of tune out the world when I watch,” she admitted.

She may be the team’s oldest living fan, but she hasn’t let age stop her from rooting them on.

“I can’t do everything. I am legally blind and my hearing is not sharp but my legs are pretty good,” Toppin said. “They say I can kick as high as anybody.”

Although this Twins fan can’t always see the game, she has a special way of tracking it with a pen and paper.

“I write down the order of the players so I kind of know the next time they come up and which one is going,” she said. “If they make a home run, I put a little asterisk there. I have my own little system.”

She knows baseball language like the back of her hand which helps her keep track of each inning.

“I don’t have to actually see the strike or ball because I can’t see it, but I know what’s going on because of the announcers,” she added.

Her favorite part about going to Target Field?

“Probably the hot dog,” laughed Toppin. “I’m going to have that.”

Toppin will be going to the game tomorrow with four generations of her family, celebrating 103 years of loving baseball.